What is the employee onboarding process?

Employee onboarding is the process of integrating a new hire into a company and preparing them to be a productive member of the team. It encompasses the first few days, weeks, and months of employment as the employee learns about the company culture, policies, processes, and job responsibilities.

Onboarding typically includes three steps:

1. An orientation introduces the employee to the company and explains their responsibilities.
2. Training teaches the skills needed for the job.
3. Socializing helps the employee connect with co-workers and adapt to company culture.

Taking time to properly onboard improves employee satisfaction and retention. In short, it sets up everyone for success.

What is required for employee onboarding?

Ensuring a seamless onboarding process involves a series of key steps, from handling initial paperwork to providing comprehensive training and seamlessly integrating new employees into the company culture.

Start by fostering clear communication between HR and the new hire. This involves promptly sending out all necessary paperwork, addressing any queries the employee may have, and establishing transparent expectations for the onboarding journey. Equally important is ensuring that new hires gain swift access to essential training materials, policies, and procedures.

A crucial aspect of effective onboarding is assigning each new hire a mentor or buddy for support. This not only helps them feel more connected to the team but also provides a sense of security throughout the onboarding process. Thanks to Guru's knowledge-sharing capabilities, connecting with mentors and peers becomes a breeze, fostering a positive company culture.

Why is onboarding important?

The onboarding process forms the cornerstone of a new hire's entire experience with your company. Equipping them with the tools and knowledge to thrive in their role contributes to happier employees who are more likely to stay for the long term. This translates into improved employee retention rates, heightened productivity, and substantial cost savings for your company. As Amy Hirsh Robinson, principal of the consulting firm The Interchange Group in Los Angeles, put it, "Onboarding is a magic moment when new employees decide to stay engaged or become disengaged." It's incredibly important to get right.

What are the 4 C’s of employee onboarding?

Employee onboarding is a key component of any successful business, as it helps to ensure that new hires have everything they need to succeed in their roles. One way to maximize the effectiveness of employee onboarding is by following the “4 C’s” model. This model focuses on four key elements: Communication, Culture, Compliance, and Capacity.

Compliance

Compliance is the process of making sure your new employee meets all the legal requirements necessary to work for you. This includes background checks, tax forms, and any other paperwork or processes that need to be completed in order for them to become an official part of your organization.

Clarification

Clarification is the process of making sure your new employee understands their job role, expectations, and any policies or procedures that need to be adhered to. This includes orientation sessions, company training courses, and other activities designed to ensure the new hire is aware of all pertinent information before they begin working.

Culture

Culture is the process of introducing your new employee to the culture and values of your organization. This includes team-building activities, team outings, and other activities designed to make sure they feel accepted as part of the workforce.

Connection

Connection is the process of making sure your new employee feels connected to their coworkers. This includes providing a mentor or sponsor, hosting social events, and other activities designed to help the new hire form relationships with their colleagues.

The 4 phases of the employee onboarding process

Phase 1: Pre-onboarding 

Pre-onboarding is the process of getting new employees acclimated to the company before their first day of work. Pre-onboarding can include offering the position, sending an acceptance letter, sharing what to expect (or bring) on the first day, and providing information about the company culture. By taking care of these things ahead of time, you can help new employees feel more comfortable and prepared for their first day on the job. Pre-onboarding is a great way to make a good impression on new hires and set them up for success at your company.

Warm welcome package

Who doesn’t like a little box of company swag on their first day? According to QZ, tokens of appreciation like these can go a long way to helping  employees feel connected. Some branded t-shirts, a few trinkets that reflect your company’s culture, and a greeting card from the team gets day one off to the right start. If you’re remote, ship a welcome package along with other WFH materials to their door! This extra touch will make even distributed team members feel closer to their co-workers and create a great first employee experience.

Prepare them for their first day

Day 1 can be a daunting experience for any new hire. To help them (and you) prepare, there are a few important documents they should bring with them: HR paperwork, identification, and payroll information. HR paperwork includes things like their offer letter, job description, and employee handbook. They'll need identification to fill out the necessary forms, and payroll information so they know when they'll be getting their first paycheck. If they have any questions beforehand, provide them with your contact information so they can reach out. By being prepared ahead of time, you'll help make their transition into the company as smooth as possible. 

Phase 2: Introductions

Starting a new job can be overwhelming, especially if you don't know anyone at the company. That's why it's important for managers and colleagues to take the time to introduce new employees to everyone they'll be working with. Introductions help new employees feel welcome and comfortable, and they can provide valuable information about the company culture and expectations. In addition, introductions help to build relationships and trust, which are essential for effective teamwork. By taking the time to introduce new employees to their colleagues, managers and co-workers can help them get off to a great start at their new job.

Send out an announcement

Remind the staff that someone new has joined the team! Find a template for people to share out their life stories, fun facts, and preferred working styles. Onboarding isn’t all about company policies and tax papers, it’s about getting to know the people you’ll be working alongside. Open up a space for your new hire to connect with their colleagues and find common interests! 

Set up tours, social time, and introductions

If you’re operating in an office, start things off with a tour to let new hires get acquainted with the space. This is a great time to introduce your new hire to interdepartmental coworkers and provide them with any keys or access codes that they may need for the building.

If you’re in a remote setting, don’t skimp out on the ‘office tour’! Get all your team members onto an orientation Zoom call on their new team member's first day, keep it to a casual first day coffee and chit chat to make your new coworkers feel comfortable and excited about the prospect of working with this team. Sharing photos and welcome videos of the team, the company HQ, or past bonding events is a great way to show your new hire what your company culture is all about.

Share policies, values, and guidelines with an employee handbook

An employee handbook is a document that outlines the policies, values and guidelines of a company. It is an important tool for communicating with employees and ensuring that everyone is on the same page. A well-written employee handbook can help to improve morale and reduce turnover, as well as providing a reference point for resolving disputes. It can also make clear what kinds of expectations a team member should have for their overall employee experience.

A handbook should be clear and concise, and should cover topics such as attendance, dress code, harassment, and workplace safety. In addition, the handbook should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure that it remains relevant.

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Phase 3: Settling in

Starting a new job is exciting and stressful all at the same time. As a manager, you’re a coach, so lean into that part of your role by helping new hires settle in quickly so they can hit the ground running and be successful from the start. This not only helps reduce friction with existing employees, it lowers the chance that your new hire will regret taking the job and makes it easier to "fit in" right away.

Match new employees with an onboarding buddy

Setting up new hires with a point person to guide them through their first few weeks and months helps to ease the transition. And although their manager is there for any questions that they may have, sometimes it feels more natural to raise the little questions and growing pains to a peer rather than a higher up.

Provide onboarding checklists and valuable resources 

Equip your new hires with the resources they need to excel and get up to speed in their role with our guide for creating an onboarding checklist. When onboarding a new employee, it’s important to create a personalized experience based on their role. The onboarding process for new hires in sales will look differently than those onboarding in HR or People Ops and having a structured onboarding that includes role specific resources will help keep your new employee engaged and on track.

Consolidate new hire resources into one searchable place 

Give new team members a clear place to start. A simple welcome email with a dense to-do list will only make your new hire’s first day feel more daunting. Instead, try utilizing a user-friendly employee onboarding software that stores everything from company policies, new hire paperwork, device setup info, various tools and logins, and every other part of your onboarding program in one searchable place.

Onboarding software that keeps information accessible even after the formal onboarding process is over will help your new employees feel confident in their roles faster in the short term and give them the flexibility to look back on those early learnings to keep productivity up in the long term.

Curious how Guru uses Guru for employee onboarding? Check out this post by Bobby Lundquist, Guru’s Lead People Operations Specialist.

Phase 4: Follow up 

Once you’ve established clear expectations for your new hire, it’s important to check in with your employee regularly to ensure a smooth transition into their new role. Maintaining consistency with how an employee is doing can help with any hiccups or confusion they may have along the way. Being actively involved in a new hires onboarding will show that you’re invested in their experience and can help establish trust, as well as increase performance and workforce retention. 

Establish a plan for review

Onboarding doesn't end after the first few weeks or months at a new job and check-ins shouldn't either. A 30-60-90 day plan is an important tool for any manager to have in their arsenal. This simple document can help to ensure that a new hire is focused and has a clear understanding of their goals and priorities. It can also be used to track the progress of a new hire, and to identify any areas where additional training may be needed. 

When creating a 30-60-90 day plan, be sure to include a mix of focus areas, goals, and priorities. For each focus area, identify one or two goals that you would like the new hire to achieve. Then, prioritize these goals by order of importance. Finally, establish metrics of success for each goal, so that you can track the new hire's progress. By taking the time to create a well-rounded 30-60-90 day plan, you can set your new hire up for success from day one.

Use Guru’s 30-60-90 day plan template to create a check in cadence with your new hire to get continuous, long term feedback about their onboarding experience and to ensure you're setting them up for long term success.

Onboarding process examples

Let’s look at three examples of effective onboarding processes:

1. Virtual Onboarding: Virtual onboarding typically involves a mix of online training sessions, video conferences, and other virtual resources. Denne type onboarding kan være effektiv for fjernansatte, da den giver dem de værktøjer og ressourcer, de har brug for for at komme i gang uden at kræve, at de rejser til et kontor.
2. Ven- onboarding: Denne type onboarding indebærer at tildele en mentor eller ven til den nye medarbejder. Mentoren eller vennen er typisk en erfaren medarbejder, der kan give vejledning og støtte under onboardingprocessen. Denne type onboarding kan være særligt effektiv for nye medarbejdere, der muligvis er nervøse for at starte et nyt job.
3. Leder-ledet onboarding: I denne type onboarding tager den nye medarbejders leder føringen i at give træning og støtte. Denne type onboarding kan være effektiv for medarbejdere, der vil arbejde tæt sammen med deres leder eller supervisor. Det giver den nye medarbejder mulighed for tidligt at etablere et forhold til deres leder og kan hjælpe dem med at føle sig mere tilknyttede til teamet.

Uanset onboardingprocessen er nøglen at sikre, at nye medarbejdere føler sig støttet og engageret under processen. Ved at give klar kommunikation, adgang til nødvendige ressourcer og en følelse af fællesskab, kan organisationer sætte deres nye medarbejdere op til succes. Derudover kan brugen af en løsning som Guru hjælpe med at strømligne onboardingprocessen og sikre, at nye medarbejdere har adgang til alle de nødvendige oplysninger, de har brug for for at få succes.

Almindelige udfordringer under medarbejder onboarding

Vi har alle været der: det er din første dag på jobbet, og der er navne, der skal huskes, processer, der skal forstås, nye programmer, der skal læres, og positive første indtryk, der skal skabes. Det er overvældende, og hvis du starter i et nyt firma i et fjernmiljø, kan det føles endnu mere isolerende.

Hvis alle onboardingressourcer og træning er spredt over værktøjer, e-mails og enkeltstående Slack-beskeder, er det nemt for de følelser af stress og isolation at blive forstærket. At investere i en onboarding-software der samler alle de materialer, som nye medarbejdere har brug for at få en produktiv start, er en god måde at få dem til at føle sig straks styrket i deres stilling. Og det betyder noget; folk, der har haft en negativ onboardingoplevelse som ny medarbejder, er dobbelt så tilbøjelige til at søge en anden mulighed i den nærmeste fremtid. 

Tid til produktivitet er vigtig, men forhast det ikke. En Harvard Business Review-artikel peger på, at op til 20% af medarbejderomsætningen finder sted inden for de første 45 dage af ansættelsen, og at de mest succesfulde virksomheder bruger et år på fuld onboarding af nye medarbejdere.

Informationsoverbelastning

Når en ny medarbejder starter på et job, bliver de ofte bombarderet med en overflod af information og opgaver, der skal læres og udføres. Dette kan let resultere i informationsoverbelastning, hvilket kan være overvældende og hæmme deres evne til at præstere godt i deres nye rolle. En veludformet onboardingprocess kan dog hjælpe med at mindske dette problem.

En måde en onboardingproces kan forhindre informationsoverbelastning er ved at opdele informationen i håndterbare bidder. I stedet for at præsentere en ny medarbejder for en lang liste af opgaver og information på én gang, vil et effektivt onboardingprogram give de nødvendige oplysninger i en struktureret og logisk rækkefølge. Dette kan involvere at give træningsmaterialer, der er opdelt i små, fordøjelige sektioner, eller tildele specifikke opgaver i en logisk rækkefølge for at hjælpe den nye medarbejder med at opbygge deres viden og færdigheder gradvist.

Manglende rolleafklaring

Et væsentligt aspekt af en vellykket onboardingproces for medarbejdere er at sikre, at nye medarbejdere har en klar forståelse af deres rolle og ansvar inden for organisationen. Dette inkluderer ikke kun en grundlæggende jobbeskrivelse, men også en dybere forståelse af, hvordan deres rolle passer ind i virksomhedens større mål og vision. For at opnå dette bør et effektivt onboardingprogram inkludere omfattende træningssessioner, der giver nye medarbejdere en fuldstændig forståelse af deres pligter og forventninger.

Ud over træning er det også vigtigt at give nye medarbejdere de værktøjer, de har brug for til effektivt at udføre deres job. Dette kan inkludere adgang til virksomhedens software eller hardware, information om relevante politikker og procedurer og forbindelser til nøgleteammedlemmer eller interessenter. 

At ikke implementere rollespecifik onboarding

Det er vigtigt at anerkende, at hver rolle i en organisation er unik og kommer med sine egne sæt af ansvar, færdigheder og videnskrav. For at sikre at onboardingprocessen er effektiv, bør en del af programmet tilpasses specifikt til den nye medarbejders rolle. Dette kan involvere at give specialiseret træning, tildele rolletaskspecifikke opgaver eller forbinde den nye medarbejder med nøgleinteressenter inden for deres ansvarsområde. 

Ved at skræddersy onboardingoplevelsen til den nye medarbejders rolle kan virksomheden hjælpe dem med at føle sig mere selvsikre og bemyndigede i deres nye stilling, hvilket fører til en lettere overgang og hurtigere integration i teamet. Derudover kan det at give rolle-specifik træning og ressourcer hjælpe medarbejderen med at blive mere produktiv og bidrage hurtigere til organisationens mål.

At give præcise og opdaterede oplysninger

I opretholdelsen af succesfulde onboardingprocesser er det kritisk at sikre, at de oplysninger, new hires modtager, er opdaterede og nøjagtige. Forældede oplysninger kan føre til forvirring, frustration og i sidste ende dårlig præstation. Desuden kan unøjagtige oplysninger føre til misforståelser og fejl, der kan påvirke både den nye medarbejders arbejde og organisationen som helhed.

Indhenting af feedback

Det er ofte et overset skridt, men det betyder ikke, at det er uvigtigt at indhente feedback fra nye medarbejdere om deres oplevelse. For det første giver det værdifulde indsigter i effektiviteten af onboardingprogrammet og hjælper med at identificere områder, der kræver forbedring. For det andet kan feedback fra nye medarbejdere hjælpe organisationer med at identificere potentielle problemer tidligt, hvilket forhindrer, at problemer bliver store hindringer senere. Endelig viser anmodningen om feedback et engagement i medarbejderengagement og -udvikling, hvilket kan hjælpe med at skabe en positiv virksomhedskultur og forbedre den samlede medarbejdertilfredshed. Ved aktivt at søge og bruge feedback fra nye medarbejdere kan virksomheder skabe en mere effektiv og positiv onboardingoplevelse for fremtidige medarbejdere.

Omkostninger ved medarbejder onboarding

Den reelle omkostning ved onboarding og træning af en ny medarbejder er omkring $2,000 for mindre virksomheder til mere end $3,000 for større. Selv de mest succesfulde virksomheder kan bruge måneder på at onboarde nye medarbejdere, hvilket betyder, at de fleste nye medarbejdere ikke opnår fuld produktivitet i mange, mange uger. 

Taget samlet har disse omkostninger en kvantificerbar indvirkning på bundlinjen: nye medarbejdere (og overførsler!) kan reducere samlede indtægter med mellem 1 og 2,5%. Uanset størrelsen på dit firma er det en betydelig procentdel af indtægten, der går tabt i processen med at forbedre din virksomhed. 

Find ud af, hvordan du kan nedbringe de gennemsnitlige omkostninger ved at træne en ny medarbejder.

Ofte stillede spørgsmål under onboardingprocessen

At starte et nyt job kan både være spændende og skræmmende. Med så meget at lære og gøre er det almindeligt at have mange spørgsmål. Derfor er en veludformet onboardingproces så vigtig. Her er nogle af de mest stillede spørgsmål under onboardingprocessen.

• Hvilke fordele er tilgængelige for mig?
• Hvad skal jeg have på arbejde?
• Hvordan vil jeg blive trænet?
• Hvem skal jeg henvende mig til, hvis jeg har et spørgsmål eller problem?

Hvad er et onboardingworkflow?

Et onboardingworkflow er et struktureret sæt af trin og procedurer, som nye medarbejdere gennemgår under onboardingprocessen. Det inkluderer typisk en blanding af orientering, træning og læring på jobbet. En god onboarding-workflow skal være omfattende og dække alle aspekter af medarbejderens rolle og virksomhedens kultur. Det bør også tilpasses de individuelle behov for medarbejderen, da ikke alle nye medarbejdere har de samme krav.

Med Guru, kan HR skabe et strømlinet og effektivt onboardingworkflow, der er tilpasset de individuelle behov for hver ny medarbejder. Vores AI-drevne søgefunktion gør det nemt at finde de nødvendige oplysninger, mens videndelingsevner gør det muligt for nye medarbejdere at oprette forbindelse med mentorer og jævnbyrdige.

Hvad gør en stærk onboardingproces?

En stærk onboardingproces er en, der er omfattende, engagerende og støttende. Den bør give nye medarbejdere alle de værktøjer og ressourcer, de har brug for for at blive fuldt produktive i deres rolle, samtidig med at den fremmer en positiv virksomhedskultur. Med Guru kan HR skabe en omfattende onboardingproces, der dækker alle aspekter af medarbejderens rolle, herunder træning, politikker og procedurer.

Hvad er HR's rolle i onboardingprocessen?

HR spiller en vigtig rolle i onboardingprocessen, da de er ansvarlige for at oprette og implementere onboardingworkflowet. Ved at bruge Guru kan HR nemt oprette en omfattende onboardingproces, der er tilpasset de enkelte behov hos hver ny medarbejder; en, der dækker alle aspekter af medarbejderens rolle og fremmer en positiv virksomhedskultur. Med Guru kan nye medarbejdere føle sig støttede og tilknyttede, mens HR kan strømline onboardingworkflowet, reducere risikoen for fejl og forbedre virksomhedens samlede præstation.